Morality used to be simple in the fifties. One was allowed to be wistful but never cynical...
Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya
Har fikr ko dhuan se udaata chala gaya
Any moral impasse could be smoothened over by remembering motherly virtue and goodness.A post - Partition nation needed the comfort of a secure social order.People wanted to forget its collapse.
Satyakam is an interesting film, and would be worth watching just for Dharmendra's performance,perhaps the best he ever gave.It is a departure from the straight path narrative of the films of the time. None of the simple solutions that these films offered could resolve Satyakam's central dilemma-Is honesty carried to an extreme a vice? It devours him - his values degenerate into an obsession- his family suffers,he dies in misery.But the end is on a redemptive note- his adopted son (just a child) can unflinchingly face a traumatic truth about his parentage.And proves the worth of his father's convictions.
The film can be lugubrious because of its subject-it is the story of a man's decline and death,and there are are few moments of relief indeed. It's the acting - and the unusual theme- that keeps the viewer involved.
P.S. It is the only mainstream film of the time that has a rape victim who actually attempts to lead a normal life.Though what's happened to her is shown as something that vitiates her life forever (which is something I didn't like) at least a measure of sensitivity is shown , something that isn't for sure even in contemporary films.And for a deeper understanding of the film, look here
Main zindagi ka saath nibhata chala gaya
Har fikr ko dhuan se udaata chala gaya
Any moral impasse could be smoothened over by remembering motherly virtue and goodness.A post - Partition nation needed the comfort of a secure social order.People wanted to forget its collapse.
Satyakam is an interesting film, and would be worth watching just for Dharmendra's performance,perhaps the best he ever gave.It is a departure from the straight path narrative of the films of the time. None of the simple solutions that these films offered could resolve Satyakam's central dilemma-Is honesty carried to an extreme a vice? It devours him - his values degenerate into an obsession- his family suffers,he dies in misery.But the end is on a redemptive note- his adopted son (just a child) can unflinchingly face a traumatic truth about his parentage.And proves the worth of his father's convictions.
The film can be lugubrious because of its subject-it is the story of a man's decline and death,and there are are few moments of relief indeed. It's the acting - and the unusual theme- that keeps the viewer involved.
P.S. It is the only mainstream film of the time that has a rape victim who actually attempts to lead a normal life.Though what's happened to her is shown as something that vitiates her life forever (which is something I didn't like) at least a measure of sensitivity is shown , something that isn't for sure even in contemporary films.And for a deeper understanding of the film, look here
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